One Year Old

Well, get a load of this! I officially have a 1-year-old! WHAT!? But boy oh boy isn't he CUTE?!? We were so excited for his birthday today! Although today was pretty low-key since we're planning a fun birthday bash this weekend! Today we woke up to a little snowstorm, played at home, got a couple calls (and, therefore, birthday songs) from family, and (once the snow melted) went to the grocery store where one of the produce workers gave him a free banana to munch on while we shopped!

Here's the last picture of the monthly series... sort of bittersweet. Kind of like the end of an era.

And here is the final, finished comparison picture of his growth over the past 12 months.

Some stats about Charlie at 1 Year:

• Size 12 month and 12-18 month clothes. He's squeezing the final use out of his 6-12 month and 9 month items.
• Eats 3 meals a day, like a real human ;) Then has 3 bottles throughout the day, ususally an hour or two after his meals. The bottles are about 6-7 oz each.
• Size 4 diapers
• Down to 1 nap: Sleeps usually 2 hours and goes down around noon.
• Still just two bottom teeth, but I swear those top two won't be able to stay hidden much longer!
• Increasing his vocabulary. New words include "Guh", nanana, and much more experimental babbling. I'm also pretty sure he understands the meaning of "Mama" (me, of course!) and "Baba" (bottle) when he says them.
• Shakes his head "no" and waves his hands bye and hi when we do it first. So cute. He's also started shaking his head no when he's done eating and doesn't want any more bites.
• So close to walking on his own. He's excellent at walking (without shoes) while holding my hand or a push toy or anything. In fact, I've seen him walk up to 4 steps when he knows he has somewhere to "land" like a sofa or a person. I seriously think he could walk if he wanted to, but he just doesn't feel safe yet.
• Started logically thinking! This has been really exciting. We will play with toys and he will purposely put them in the right place (like a car down a ramp), especially after I show him. We're working on putting shapes in the right shape holes. I just can't believe how smart he is! It's so exciting :) Toys are no longer just for sucking and banging.
• Throws things: sippy cups, snacks, balls, cars, bottles... basically you name it, he throws it. It's just the only way he knows how to put something down, and it can be pretty funny. We're working on being gentle ;) It's extra cute, though, when he throws a toy on the tile floor and it makes a loud noise and he will just laugh and laugh and then go do it again. It's a cute little game he plays! We love to watch him entertain himself :)
• No longer spits up at all, thank heavens! And doesn't get the hiccups as much when he laughs. Although, if he does get the hiccups, it no longer causes spit-up! Whew!
• LOVES the bath. Whenever I turn the water on, he bee lines to the bathroom and starts yelling into the tub. I think he likes the way it echos and sounds really loud :) Then, once he's in the tub, he'll splash and play and lift the drain to let the water out. And then he will close it again. Such a funny kid.
• Starting to develop memory and object permanence. This is normally a bad thing, especially when trying to keep him away/out of things he shouldn't be into ;)
• Learned how to open cabinet doors and drawers. I've been putting those annoying hooks on so he can't get to the dangerous stuff... blah. Oh - and did I mention that there are drawers right outside our bathroom door, and if he opens them while I'm in the bathroom, I get locked IN because the door opens outward!! Eeek. Yes. This has happened once. And no, I didn't have my phone with me. And no, Charlie has NO idea what it means when I ask him to push the drawer back in. Fortunately, I got really lucky and he sat back against the drawer and accidentally closed it. Needless to say, I now either leave the door open or bring my phone with me to the bathroom when it's just me and him at home. Lol.
• Favorite toys are stuffed animals, books, and his push wagon.
• Tends to be rather impatient sometimes, especially when he runs out of food on his tray and wants more. He'll scream really loudly and high pitched until he gets more. How do you tell a 1 year old that we need to use our words instead of yell? Especially when he doesn't have words yet? Oh well. I just keep trying to teach him.
• Still loves to ride in the car or his stroller. Loves the grocery store because there's so much to look at.
• Even though he says "Mama"... his Daddy is definitely his favorite. He just LIGHTS UP and giggles and smiles every time he sees his Daddy. It melts both of our hearts into a puddle. D'awww!

We will be having an awesomely fun birthday party for him on Saturday. I'll make sure to take lots of pics and post a nice, big blog post of the festivities! Until then, please enjoy these adorable, wonderful pictures I took for Charlie's 1 year photo shoot: